Noam Chomsky's Inbox

Chomsky is a world-famous public intellectual, highly involved in politics, and he managed to answer a great deal more emails than I ever would.

Chomsky suffered a stroke in June of 2023, and his health has deteriorated. He has not died, but all the updates I’ve been able to find indicate that he is continuing his decline. I expect in the next few weeks, maybe months, we’ll be seeing quite a few reflections on Chomsky’s life and career — it is just a matter of until he meets his end.

Many of these reflections will focus on Chomsky’s politics: his analysis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, his alleged downplaying of genocide (I’ve briefly looked into this and came away with a mixed assessment), his appearances on Firing Line. Others will emphasis the role Chomsky had on modern linguistics — including those who falsely claim that Chomsky’s entire project has been debunked. This focus is appropriate, but right now I’m thinking about his inbox.

Noam Chomsky famously answered cold emails. I don’t think this is the most important fact about him – he essentially kickstarted a new era of linguistics, and his social commentary made him a truly radical public intellectual (for better and for worse) – but his responsiveness is a striking fact.

I do not answer many emails. If I had to estimate, roughly 80% of the emails are receive are pure junk, 10% are borderline, and the other 10% are worthwhile. I probably answer a total of 5% of my emails because of this, so not even all of the worthwhile emails. And I am, at best, a minor internet personality with a small (but I would say high-quality!) following. Chomsky is a world-famous public intellectual, highly involved in politics, and he managed to answer a great deal more emails than I ever would.

It is shockingly common to hear from political writers of just about every persuasion that once, before they had made a name for themselves, they wrote to Chomsky about some matter, and within a matter of days they would receive replies. Some of these were short, some were long, but most report that Chomsky took the emails seriously. If they had questions, he answered them. If they sought advice, he provided it. If they just wanted to share their work, he read it and commented. This did not seem to get in the way of his work in politics or linguistics, and it seriously encouraged many budding intellectuals.

I don’t have much in the way of an insightful analysis here. I do not think Chomsky’s approach was inherently linked to his politics, nor do I think being responsive is a moral obligation for public figures. When you start to get attention, your first duty is to figure out how to keep doing the work that you love to do. Chomsky, somehow, was able to do that while also answering thousands of emails, in detail, in a way that deeply impacted a generation of younger scholars, activists, and readers.

“I don’t know if it is an obligation, exactly,” Chomsky says in the interview above. “It’s a privilege.”